Ann Marie Buerkle: “I thank my esteemed colleague from Texas for his kind comments, and I thank all of the gentlemen who have the courage to…”

“I thank my esteemed colleague from Texas for his kind comments, and I thank all of the gentlemen who have the courage to stand up and call awareness to the issue of domestic violence, who stand against the violence against women, men, and children. Domestic violence is known by many names: domestic abuse, spousal abuse, family violence, intimate partner violence. It also takes many forms, from physical violence involving small things such as hitting or kicking, biting, shoving, or restraining. It can be emotional or it can be verbal, which manifests in many types of behavior: controlling, domineering, threatening, or humiliating. And we as a society have an obligation to raise the awareness of domestic violence so that women know, just as my esteemed colleague was talking about, it's not their fault. It is the fault of the perpetrator, whether that perpetrator is male or female, and that is the person who should be held accountable, not the victim. It can also be economic abuse in which the abuser controls the victim's money, and this abuse we often see with the elderly. Another issue that we need to raise society's consciousness about, the issues of elder abuse. Tragically, domestic violence is not a rare phenomenon, Mr. Speaker. The Centers for Disease Control estimate that domestic violence is a public health problem affecting over 32 million Americans, or 10 percent of the population.…”